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Welted shoe repair


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Quick question - I took a pair of welted shoes in to be resoled (at a local independent) and they came back with stitching going through the insole.

 

Is that normal?

 

To me it seems to undo the effort that was put into building welted shoes in the first place.

 

-Perros-

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sounds like the soles may have been stitched using a different stitcher to original, but it could be that what you've perceived as a welt is in fact a trim designed to look like a welt & the original soles may never have been stitched via a welt.

 

can you take some images & show us? or at least tell us the make & model of the shoes, to help assess the way they "should" have been repaired?

 

Lee

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well from the link it would indicate they are indeed welted & shouldn't have been repaired the way they have.

 

Was this the first repair? had you worn them significantly, perhaps wearing the welt at the toes etc?

 

Or was this a routine resole?

 

Lee

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When I cannot stitch the shoe goodyear because of a bad welt, several times already stitched or... I just pull off the sole and glue another on. It"s better to glue a sole right onto the welt and if necessary replace the korkinlay then to stitch them blake. Stitching the shoe with a blake ruines the stitches wherewith the outsole is attached to the welt.

Over here in Belgium we have to repair goodyears too but often the manufacturer has scoured the welt so small that the needle will destroy the welt completely. The only option here is to get off the sole and glue another one on to it. Have done it often and even had to resole them afterwards. No problem.

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Churches do a welted shoe, that has so little welt, neither they or the repairer can stitch them & they are bonded from original. But with the link to these clarks they are clearly stitched originally so I suspect (but would be interested to see some pictures or handle the shoes) this was an inappropriate repair.

 

Lee

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If the welt is damaged, coming away, needs replacing & the customer is not willing to pay for a proper repair then I would refuse the job.

 

My reputation as a top quality shoe repair is worth more than a few quid in the till for a bodge job.

 

I had a woman bring in 3 pair of Jeffrey wests about two years ago, all 3 had been repaired before and all 3 were wrecked because of bad craftmanship, scoured welt stitches, blaked on welted, and just general trash repair.

I told the woman that in order to repair them properly it would cost approx £150 a pair, and showed her the damage. she took them away to ask her husband. He came in about 3 weeks later with another pair of J. Wests for there first repair, and we had a conversation about the other shoes, and I explained in some detail about shoe construction.

 

I repaired his shoes with a "V" joint at the waist, exactley the same as the manufacturer, they were the boll***s and he was thrilled with them. since then I have sold that business, to another repairer, but the customer still comes to me even though its a 50 mile round trip for him.

 

Blaking welted shoes is not exceptable in any circumstance... And Grey, there is nothing wrong with a Blake machine, it is a must in the complete professional repairers workshop.. you just have to know when to use it!!

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perhaps the thing to do is to get the shoe from the customer & show some pictures.got to agree with wage slave bout blaking welted shoes,look at some of the samuel windsors .i had a brand new pair in customer wanted stick on soles took them out of the box pulled the front of them welt stitching was so slack you could see the holes told him to send them back but to keep the bag they came in.also told him that if the person who made the bag had made the shoes he wouldnt have to send them back the truth is in a perfect world we would all rewelt them no way would a windsor wearer pay to have them rewelted

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Quick question - I took a pair of welted shoes in to be resoled (at a local independent) and they came back with stitching going through the insole.

 

Is that normal?

 

 

saves having to unpick the old stitching ffs

 

THIS IS A NONO!

Under NO circumstances would i contemplate blaking a welted shoe.

carry on!

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